A couple of weeks ago it was my birthday and I got some amazing gifts from my very best friends! I wanted to share a couple of them that I have been enjoying 😃

Tarte Bling It On Amazonian Blush Palette ($44) was a great surprise to get 😃

I have last year’s and loved it so I was super happy to get this year’s too.

Side by side ❤️❤️

Some swatches

This year the blushes (at least in my opinion) are a lot more pigmented than last year’s.

My favorites are Fetching and Smashing while my least favorites are Dollface and the non existent Beaming lol. Beaming is nice as a highlighter but definitely not alone as a blush on my olive skin tone.

These are swatches from last year’s palette the Tarte Pin Up Girl. Breathless is the same as Beaming on me where they don’t show up so I typically mix them with the other darker more pigmented shades if I don’t want to use them as a highlighter.

Bling It On

Pros

-slim palette

-names on palette

Cons

–glitter from palette gets everywhere

-not travel friendly because it has opened in my makeup bag when I went away for a night, but thankfully no major damage

Pin Up Girl

Pros

-shades are more olive tone friendly

-I love the packaging

-I like the clasp and that when I shut it, it stays closed

Cons

-a tad bulky

-I don’t know the name of the blushes without looking them up

I really enjoy using both, but still leans more towards the 2014 palette than the newer one.

Stila Eternally Yours Liquid Lipstick Set ($39)

I have been been eyeing this set for awhile and was so ecstatic when I got it 😻

The doe foot applicator makes it super easy to apply. A lip liner is needed and while applying some colors feathered around my lips so I needed concealer to clean up but I didn’t mind too much.

The lipsticks themselves lasted a good 4-6 hours (which included light snacking and drinking water) and I love how velvety they felt while applying but quickly turned into an opaque and matte finish.

I can’t really pick a favorite from the lot but my least favorite is Caramello.

It’s just too light but I do love mixing it with other colors especially Como and Chianti but alone I just look washed out 😔

Guerlain Meteorites Powder For The Face and Décolleté ($80)

I had mentioned to my husband that I was dying for these and was so happy when he gave them to me for my birthday ❤️❤️❤️❤️

These are definitely pricey and I don’t see myself getting another one until I use these up but omg the hype around these is real people it’s REAL!!!

They give this inner glow that not even my Hourglass Ambient Powders can give and no joke whenever someone compliments me about my “pregnancy glow” it’s always when I’m wearing this, I mean I would hope I’m always glowing but compared to my other powders this is the only one that really makes me pop and gets people to notice. (I’m wearing it in the last Dose of Colors post.)

Laura Mercier Le Petite Soufflés Body Creme Collection ($60)

I had wanted this from Sephora when they were having their VIB sale but of course it was sold out and I haven’t seen it restocked since so when I went Black Friday Shopping I was very happy to find this at Nordstrom.

I figured I would treat myself to it because of the mere fact I had been wanting this for so long.

One 12oz alone cost $60 so I love being able to try 6 (2oz) for the same price just more variety.

During the holidays trying new lotions and body butters are a favorite of mine since I normally don’t stray from my Palmer’s Body Butter but when they have these sets I love giving into my curiosity.

The Collection includes

– Ambre Vanillé

– Fresh Fig

– Crème de Pistache

– Almond Coconut Milk

-Crème Brûlée

-Tarte au Citron

They all smell amazing and I’m currently using Tarte au Citron (which has an amazing lemon loaf smell that I am loving)
I don’t think I would buy just one for the price of $60 but I’m certainly going to enjoy this set and next holiday season splurge again.

That’s it for now, my friends were all very sweet and giving so I haven’t had a chance to try everything out but I am set for the rest of the winter lolol and will post when I have tried more things out.

We went to the mall this weekend for various errands with the main one to find a dress for a wedding I am going to this weekend back in Chicago.

Fail on finding a dress lol but OMGGGGG yay to finding my Laura Mercier Indiscretion!!! I nearly screamed while in Sephora when I saw they only had 2 left and I immediately grabbed one and checked out. I couldn’t believe it! I have been looking for this for a while and am so happy it is finally mine! AHHHH happy days are here again 🙂

I also found these cute flats at Forever 21 (guilty pleasure) for only $12 and couldn’t resist 🙂 They will go with just about everything and I love wearing flats above all else ❤

Dan needed eye cream so we went to Kiehl’s (the man is obsessed with skin care more than me!) and while there the worker gave me all of these samples! Love them ❤ I look forward to trying the Micro-Blur Skin Perfector the most because of all the reviews and claims I have read.

Last week my friend Annie from Annie’s Beauty Blog had an amazing series where she displayed all of her Nars Audacious lipsticks. Now if you know me you know I am obsessed with Nars Lipsticks lolol and she encouraged me to do a FOTD featuring a couple of my lipsticks. I thought it was a great idea so first to kick off the my series is Lana

Described as a vivid orange red, Lana is just that! I used my Chanel Orange Intense lip liner because for $31 I am going to use this lip liner as much as I can lololol

Some bad swatches of the lip liner and lipstick hahahaha (sorry my laziness got the best of me, I will be better next time)

The makeup I used yesterday (picture stolen from our Instagram 🙂 In retrospect I should have taken a picture of my non makeup face, but I will do that for Wednesday’s post 🙂

I am obsessed with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette. I mean I love all the makeup I used yesterday but I could spend way too much time just applying the Hourglass on my face to give me that glow. I have very very very dry skin so getting a dewy or glowy look is my heaven.

Oh hello there!

I am very plain on my makeup. I am not very good on applying eye makeup so it is always very subtle. I know I could practice more and get better but the occasion never really arises for fancy eye makeup. I mean I guess I could do it just for myself but I love my lipsticks and wear purple, orange, coral, hot pink, red, etc so subtle eye makeup is my must with some of the crazy lipsticks I wear leaving the house lololol

Ugh love Lana!! The lipsticks I get as gifts are always some of my favorites and this one was given to me by my best friend Laney for my birthday ❤

Yes, I am still on this sale lolololol. Just when I thought I wasn’t going to go to the store I did!

How awesome is this set I got today at Sephora inside JCPenney, regular price $39 but with the Rouge/VIB 15% off it was only $33.

Also can I just say how awesome the lady working was for giving me all these deluxe samples for free!!! Love you Kari even though you won’t ever read this lolol

Anyways, back to this set, a Beauty Blender alone costs $20 and yes to the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray that cost $14 so those 2 items practically paid for the bag. Super excited for the FULL SIZE NARs Turkish Delight lipgloss that cost $26 regular price!! AHHHHH! This bag is an awesome deal with travel size heaven too 🙂

I would definitely recommend this to EVERYONE!!!

I ordered this gorgeous Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist’s Palette ($55 regular price but with the sale $47) on Sunday and it came in yesterday 🙂

OMG is it this thing beautiful or what?! It is now sadly sold out but there is an option to get an email notification when it is restocked. It is Limited Edition though so I hope they do at least get a last batch in because words cannot even describe how pretty this is in person.

I have a problem where I like to sit and stare at my new buys sometimes it is just hours, sometimes it is days, some weeks or months HHAHAHAHAHA. I do use them (eventually) but it takes me time. I will be using it later today (hopefully) but that is why no swatches I have to sit and stare for awhile longer

What did you guys buy?

I might do one more online order (Janet, calm down!) only because I love the Dior Nude Air foundation eek! Can you tell I love sales? ❤

For the lazy procrastinator I am, I love packing for trips. My husband will take days to pack, my son an hour (his main concern is bringing the right toys) and me, I take around a half hour. I always mentally plan what I want to wear and make sure everything is clean and all I have to do is fold and put in my suitcase. All I need is a time we are suppose to leave and I will wait to the last 30 min before we are suppose to leave to start packing lol. Surprisingly I have only forgotten a few things like a toothbrush that I can buy anywhere so it is never a big deal.

Packing my makeup takes a bit of time, but I knew what I wanted to bring so here is a quick look

Sharing a room with 4 other girls means not a lot of time to really focus on doing my full glam makeup so I am always happy to have my favorite BB cream by MAC. I use Medium Dark. Some people may not like BB cream but I love it!!! It is a tad oily but since I have dry skin any oil is A OK in my book. The thing I love the most about this is that it has SPF 35!!! Love that! I go gaga over SPF so I love anything with at least SPF 30 (25 I will let slide,) but this has 35!!! It sings to my SPF heart and it gives my face enough coverage to pass for a decent foundation like coverage for me.

I put some in a sample pot I received before that I washed to make it super travel friendly 🙂 This thing can last me for around 2 weeks so when I get back I will just use up what’s left in the pot and wash it and save again for another trip.

Next I am bringing my

-MAC Pro Conceal & Correct because it has everything in a small palette

-Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks that I love and are stuck to me like glue

-Hourglass Eyeshadow Infinity Palette, I was going to bring my Naked Basics, but my friend Michelle wants to test this out before she buys one from Sephora so it’s a perfect way to give this palette some extra love. I have used it a couple of times and I personally enjoy it. I have seen some reviews that are hit or miss with this palette and honestly I think it depends on your skin and what you like/expect from eyeshadow. I love how buttery, super easy to blend, and soft these eyeshadows are 🙂 They are powdery though and some just don’t like that. There is also a tad bit of fallout but nothing a quick brush swipe can’t fix. I do not like the price tag of $58 and do think it is super expensive for a palette, but the pros outweigh the cons so yes I will be buying a couple of more

-Chanel Cream Blush, I love this blush and love how long lasting cream blushes are in general so this was a given to come with me to AZ. It works out well since my friend Michelle is bringing her Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette so if I want a different look I can borrow hers ❤

-My YSL Radiant Touch is perfect to bring on the go and throw in my purse. I love using it to not only to highlight my face, but for any quick touch up around my face

-Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder is my favorite at the moment for my highlighting needs. I use the color Highlight and really enjoy using it around my eyes and on my cupid’s bow

-I don’t really need face primer since my BB Cream is a prep and prime in itself, but I do need an eyeshadow primer. My all time favorite is Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, I have mentioned I have super oily eyelids and I have been through a bunch of eye primers but this is the only one that actually works on me. Loves it!

-MAC Blacktrack gel eyeliner is my favorite for trips because it is super long lasting, but with that being said both I agree with my friend Romy that the color fades after a couple of hours. Still love it though and enjoy how easy it is to apply and travel friendly (it is heavy with the glass packaging) 🙂

-I really don’t have any favorite mascaras since nothing has stood out to me but I am bringing Clinque High Impact Mascara and L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza because I opened them and like to use up a mascara completely before opening up more

Picking brushes was harder than I expected, but I narrowed it down to these

-Beauty Blender

-Real Techniques to use for concealer, highlighter, and eye liner

-MAC 217 for eyeshadow

-the rest are Sigma for blush and more eyeshadow

-Shu Uemura eyelash curler

-Sephora mirror to carry around in my purse

-Beauty Blender Solid cleaner since it is so nice to travel with this small bar and wash all my brushes and beauty blender

Now everything is packed and fits perfectly with even room for more in (of course) my Hello Kitty makeup bag. I left the BB cream and gel liner out sine those will be going in my liquids bag.

I haven’t picked out lipsticks yet since I am still planning on outfits, but I don’t see myself packing more than 3 lipsticks. I love lipstick but I don’t need more than 3 (I hope)

If you follow us on Instagram you would have seen this picture. I wasn’t joking when I said I was going to buy another Hourglass eyeshadow palette and was so happy when the mailman came and brought Color Fields (olive color) palette. I love the color green a lot and have been dying to test out green eyeshadows so when I saw they had an olive palette I knew I wanted it and it finally came in the mail yesterday 🙂 I tested it out and I love the green contrast against my dark brown eyes ❤

OMG as I was looking through the pictures I uploaded, I missed adding these to my favorite eye makeup of 2014.

Laura Mercier 6 Piece Mini Caviar Sticks amazed me like no other eye palettes or eye makeup out there ❤

The 6 shades include Rosegold, Amethyst, Moonlight, Copper, Khaki, Cocoa. I love them all but use Moonlight and Copper the most!

I always take them everywhere with me and if I had to pick one eye makeup out there to have for the rest of my life it would be these sticks. I feel dumb forgetting to add them to my list because I love these little babies so much.

I enjoy putting them as a base or just using a couple to complete my eye look. I am not very good at applying eye makeup but these make me feel like my eyes look amazing with the simplest amount of work done.

I have super oily eyelids and with the right primer, eye makeup can last for a bit longer than usual but these seriously stay put.

I already know for my trip this weekend I will be bringing these and my Naked Basics palette and that’s it for eye makeup concern. I use them a lot so I hope I don’t run out too soon but I already look forward to next holiday season so I can buy them again.

In other news I bought my first selfie stick!!! Yes slightly nerdy, but like I have mentioned before I am a big tourist and enjoy taking pictures when I travel. I really like how this can retract to fit into my purse or go super long to get everyone in a picture and especially love the bluetooth remote control. I don’t post a lot of pictures of my trips since I do go overboard but I make tons of scrapbooks and really like having this an extra accessory 🙂

We definitely had fun playing around last night with the selfie stick lol. Money well spent for sure 🙂

I also bought 3 extra lenses to go on my Iphone because sometimes I just don’t feel like taking a bulky camera and with my extra mini lenses I hope to improve my Iphone picture taking game. It came with Fisheye, Wide Angle, and Macro lens, I cannot wait to play around with them!

I was a bit late on my Christmas Card making so for everyone I missed sending Christmas Cards to will be getting a Valentine’s Day Card instead. I really enjoy making cards and sometimes take way too long making them eeekkk.

Dan surprised me with this book and I couldn’t have asked for a better gift than this to welcome in Valentine’s Day

The World’s Greatest Love Letters- Complied by Michael Kelahan

See I am a big hopeless romantic, I have had my heart broken many a times, but I always believed in love

So it is no surprise I love poetry and love letters so much and was super surprised Dan got me this because he is not really into love letters or books unless it is sports, GQ, or guides for traveling.

My all time favorite love letters are in this book so you can imagine how ecstatic I was when I opened it and found them in there.

It is funny because the man who compiled the letters gave my favorite his own category

“The World’s Greatest Lover” and that he was, John Keats ❤

His letters to Fanny Brawne have always been my favorite and I can read them over and over again. Shame he had hers burned because that would have been great to have read her replies to his amazing, eloquent, intense love letters.

Is it just me or is Sephora really slow on shipping from this VIB sale? They awarded me 250 points which is nice for each package that is delayed, but man I feel this year was just crazy for the sale. A couple of my friends in Chicago are also still waiting for their stuff.

Anyways, I normally don’t buy skincare stuff since I’m allergic to a lot of things, but something about this Josie Maran Winter Dreams appealed to me. For 6 products (travel size) it’s only $39 but with the sale it was $31. I was super excited to get this and test out JM since a lot of people rave about her products. Winter is here in MN, it is a pain and my skin that is normally dry turns into gross dry itchy skin, so I knew I had to have it. I’ve only used the 3 of the products at night only so far

-the cleansing oil (smells like yummy grapefruit and very citrusy) wipes off all my makeup at the end of the night and it feels good to massage into my face, it relaxes me

-the Argan Milk Intensive Hydrating treatment- I don’t really know what this is suppose to do since on one night I forgot to put this on and my face felt the same in the morning compared to the days I did use it

-the 100% Pure Argan Oil- I finish off my face with the oil (no smell) and in the morning my face does feel more hydrated and softer than in the past

I really like these products, but my only concern is that I think my pores look bigger. It might be because I am really looking at my skin since I am looking for some sort of reaction or breakout and I just never paid attention that much attention to my face but they just look bigger somehow. Although, my face is always filled with redness and little veins around my cheeks so it is hard to tell. I am going to keep using it until I am done since I love how soft my skin feels. Does anyone else use Josie Maran? Any concerns you have had with her products? Or any suggestions on keeping the skin hydrated besides drinking water?

The other three products in the pack are Argan Infinity Creamy Oil (suppose to use before makeup, condition lips, or tame fly aways,) Whipped Argan Oil Intensive Hand Crream (just waiting to use up my L’Occitane,) and Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47 (I love the SPF amount in this and can’t wait up to use up my current moisterizer to test this out.)

I love Tocca perfumers so when I saw this, The Nice List, I knew I had to get, I wish I knew they also had a Naughty List because I would have bought that one too, but now it’s sold out 😦 I think this was $15 so with the sale $12. Josie and I are going to Phoenix, AZ in January so I can’t wait to bring these along since they are the perfect size for traveling.

Now Exhibit B (Exhibit A was the Nars Audacious lipsticks) of how crazy I can be when I am obsessed with a brand. Laura Mercier, I don’t know why I like her so much, her products are great, but I am sure so are others. I get attached too quickly, but I can’t help myself from wanting all her products. I tested out her Foundation Primer in Radiance and I really like it! It feels like it does give me a more dewier look and it dries pretty fast. A little goes a long way so with that said I knew I had to buy in travel size too for my back to forth trips from MN to home.

I also bought her Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact in Highlight 01 Golden Nude. I love hightlighters, more than bronzer, so when I tested this out I knew I had to get it, normally $38, but with the sale $30. I almost have hit pan in my Nars highlighter and I can’t wait to incorporate this into my daily routine.

I only have a blush compact and Christmas gifts left from the sale so I probably won’t post those, but yes I went a tad crazy with the sale just like everyone else did lol.

Don’t forget to enter our GIVEAWAY!!!! It’s super easy to enter just click on the word giveaway to read the rules and enter 🙂

Ever since I got my makeover at Nordstrom a couple of weeks ago I have been on my Laura Mercier kick. I got her foundation, her face palette, waiting on her primer that I ordered from the Sephora sale, and now these caviar sticks.

I originally bought the 4 piece at Sephora, but when I got home and read more reviews online, I knew I wanted the extra 2 that the other department stores offered. I returned, ordered, and now they finally came in the mail since they were sold out at my local Nordstrom. To say they are amazing is an understatement, for $55 I got 6 beautiful shimmer colors.

From left to right- Amethyst, Copper, Khaki, Rosegold, Cocoa, and Moonlight

I quickly swatched them yesterday when I got them in the mail because I was rushed out the door for basketball practice, but I have to say they last. I stared at them for a bit and let them dry for a couple of seconds before I tried to rub them to see how easy they blend, but they were already dry!!! I kept moving my finger across them to see if I could blend them, but man, they wouldn’t budge. I forgot about them for awhile until I got ready for bed and washed up and I couldn’t believe they looked exactly like they did in the picture. Granted they weren’t bothered with oily lids and what not, but if they hold up even half the time I had them on my arm they will quickly become my favorite eye shadows. When I first looked at the package I was a tad letdown because the sticks looked very similar in the package, I thought why did I spend the extra money for 2 more when they look the same, but I was fooled (per usual), when I swatched them, all the beautiful colors came to life. I can’t even decide on a favorite since I know they will all work with all my different outfits and occasions.

I am loving all these Holiday Palettes and wish I could own them all. I have seen some great ones and only wish I wore enough makeup to justify buying everything.

Next week I will be taking over the blog and we will be doing our first giveaway, so stay tuned! Have a great weekend 🙂

Recently when I went to the mall to get another No Faux Pas to feed my obsession and to get another lipstick from the Heirloom Mix collection, I couldn’t help but notice the other stuff from MAC’s Holiday Collection. OMG! Curse the little kid in me that loves sparkly, shiny things, and special packaging. As I walked in with full intention to just look at the lipsticks and browse the other stuff, this caught my eye.

This makeup bag, to be exact, was what caught my eye, it’s beautiful and white and SHINY! Not even this Google picture can do the bag justice. It comes with the cutest little accent to zipper the bag and so much sparkle, I couldn’t resist. I tried logic to tell me not to buy this, I thought “no, I already have Riri Woo which is a near dupe to Ruby Woo, but the nude one, that was awful on my skin tone and the coral was eh I don’t really like corals on me, but Ruby Woo I don’t have and I love reds and pinks on me.” What’s that saleslady “this is the only time they are making Ruby Woo in a lipliner and lipgloss.” I could fight almost all of these temptations, but once she handed me the bag to look at more closely, I was sucked into buying. Bye bye Salon Rouge, hello Ruby Woo. It’s so pretty and I absolutely love it. Don’t go check it out, trust me you will want it and there will go $40 just for this set. Ugh, but secretly I love it and convinced my friend via phone she needed the nude set which she went out and bought same day. I can’t help to be an enabler sometimes, it is just so pretty.

Along with the MAC purchase I checked out the Sigma store that was nearby and was having a 20% off sale. I had been wanting to test a couple of their brushes out since my MAC ones shed a lot and while I love my other brushes I need variety. I ended up buying the new 3D Kabuki brush (white one), this is love, it gets into every nook and cranny and I wish I bought the smaller version of this because it is that good. I also got the E50 Large Fluff Brush and F15 Duo Fibre Powder/Blush brush. I have only used the E50 Large Fluff and love it for highlighting around my eyes and cheek bones. I am on the fence about F15 and might exchange it for a different brush, but I love the copper/rose gold color for the brushes, so pretty. I also got to test their little glove used for cleaning brushes and I really like it. Enough to spend $35 not so much, but I may put it on my birthday list. It makes it super easy to wash my brushes and rinse thoroughly.

Now remember when I said I love special packaging, ughhh another thing I had to get because I loved the packaging (picture off of Google). I go into Nordstrom because I have been on the hunt for the right high end foundation for me when I stumble upon Laura Mercier. I have never tried LM, but once I sat down on that beauty chair I was a goner. The saleslady did a full makeover on me for free and I fell in love with the products. I bought the foundation and this beautiful palette. It seriously is my favorite purchase. It comes with 1 basic nude eyeshadow and 2 shimmer eyeshadows, along with eyeliner and 2 blushes and a lipgloss. It is perfect for traveling. What really sold me was obviously the print, I love animal print, but would never actually buy fur, but on plastic, I just can’t say no, zebra, leopard, paw prints, etc I am sold. When the saleslady told me they were having 10% off sale on all LM stuff I just knew I had to get it.

My husband constantly teases me how I am a salesperson’s dream. I love everything and as long as I get good customer service I will for sure buy something.

Anyway, super excited it’s almost Halloween and we are carving our pumpkins tomorrow. Hope you are having a good day 🙂

Also have you guys used your Ulta 20% off total purchase? I am going today to see if anything catches my eye, but let’s get real something will and will show my purchases on Thursday lol